In the construction industry, and specifically with respect to utility construction and utility maintenance, there is a need to mobilize heavy equipment into remote areas on narrow and curving roads. Generally larger and heavier construction equipment requires larger and heavier transportation equipment. In some cases government regulations mandate the size of the transportation equipment based upon the expected load. Many roads are inaccessible for the larger sized, longer trailers that are necessary to transport heavy construction equipment due to the tight turning radius of the narrow and curving roads that are encountered in (for example) remote locations.
A lowboy trailer is preferred for hauling equipment in excess of 50,000 lbs, or over 10 feet in height. A lowboy trailer also allows heavier equipment to be unloaded more quickly and easily. A lowboy trailer has a lowered center deck between (rather than above) the axles. This in turn requires that the axles be moved further from the center of the trailer, thus making the trailer longer and increasing the turning radius. A conventional lowboy trailer is depicted in FIG. 16.
Smaller equipment (i.e., up to about 50,000 lbs in weight) can usually be hauled on a tag-a-long trailer or a flat trailer on which the deck and the equipment are positioned directly above the trailer axles, thus reducing the overall length of the trailer and allowing for a tighter turning radius.
In remote rural areas (or in any location in which the geometry prevents a lowboy from turning), the inability of the lowboy to reach certain locations makes it difficult or impossible to use at those locations. This in turn requires the use of smaller equipment. In some cases (e.g., lumbering, clearing, power line maintenance), this means items as small as chainsaws must be used manually for work that could be carried out more efficiently (and in some cases more safely) by the type of heavy equipment that requires a lowboy.
In light of the foregoing, there is a need for more effective devices and methods to mobilize heavy equipment on narrow and curving roads, or other confined spaces.